As a fourth generational Wyoming and Cody resident who lives near the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone River, I know how wild and scenic river designations are both a great source of pride and a major boost to the local economy.

I find it unconscionable that U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho is trying to stop the Snake Headwaters Legacy Act from getting through Congress.

Sen. Craig's home state of Idaho boasts nearly 600 miles of wild and scenic rivers, more than any other state in the Rocky Mountains. Wyoming's other neighbors, Montana, Colorado and Nebraska, each have far more wild and scenic river miles than we do.

Business in all of these states rake in tens of millions of dollars a year from tourists who come to fish, hunt, and raft along such legendary wild and scenic rivers as the Salmon, Flathead, Cache La Poudre, and Niobrara.

It's time for Wyoming's congressional delegation and Gov. Freudenthal to stand together and let Sen. Craig know that our state deserves the same opportunities to expand its renewable tourist economy that his own constituents have enjoyed for decades.

NIC PATRICK, Cody